A few days ago, Bleacher Report put out top 30 lists of the NBA's best defenders, creators, scorers, and shooters. These lists seem to have decided that Miami Heat players are just not that good.
Weirdly enough, they did give some random credit to Bobby Portis, who was ranked as a top-30 shooter. And I don’t blame them at all: 46% from 3-point range can give you that label.
Still, these lists were flat-out nonsensical in how they treated multiple Miami Heat players. Let’s get into it.
Klay Thompson: Not included in Top 30 Shooters list
Bleacher Report’s omission of Klay Thompson is nothing short of an airball. I understand that this isn’t the Splash Brother of old, but this is still an incredibly elite shooter who can still make difficult shots.
Klay Thompson has not shot under 38 percent from 3 once in his entire NBA career. Even in a “washed” state, Thompson still shot 38 percent from 3 on 7.6 attempts per game while transitioning to a largely bench role for the first time since his rookie year.
To be fair: he did lose his touch from elsewhere last season. His usually reliable midrange jumper slumped last season, but he’s still so good from 3 that you can’t justify him being off the top 30 list.
Even if his percentages are lower, Klay still takes and makes difficult 3-point shots. And he still shoots at a very high volume.
I’m not saying he’s top 10. I’m just saying a top-30 shooters list without Klay Thompson is plainly wrong. Lauri Markkanen has shot 35 percent over the last two seasons while missing many more games than Klay has and was 22nd on the list. And Lauri’s attempts are not as difficult as Thompson’s.
No disrespect to him or anyone on that list over him, but he belongs there.
Bam Adebayo: Ranked 25th on Top 30 Defenders List
This is way, way, way worse than the Klay Thompson snub. The man was literally second-team all-defense this season. Are you telling me he couldn’t have cracked the top 10?
Whether you go off his history of six All-Defensive selections or just off of his current play, absolutely nothing justifies this ranking. Adebayo led a Heat defense this season that wasn’t perfect, but still held teams to under 100 points 21 times while lacking defensive personnel around him for pockets of the season. Sure, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins helped, but Tyler Herro and Norman Powell were not the strongest defenders, and Bam had to cover for them.
Bleacher Report has Collin Murray-Boyles, who has played one season and received defensive awards, 13 spots above Bam. No disrespect to him, but even Murray-Boyles would admit that Bam is a better defender than he is. Sure, he’s a good defender, but Adebayo is a defensive stalwart.
At least they put Giannis at 10 on this list and 4 on their best scorers list. That can count for something.
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